This Just In: The Pill Won't Kill You!

by Roxann MtJoy · 2010-03-12 13:11:00 UTC
Topics:

Despite the vigorous efforts of conservatives and religious fanatics to convince us that birth control -- everything thing from oral contraceptives to even plain ol'  condoms -- causes cancer, it seems those pesky scientists keep coming up with factual research that tells a different story. A new study conducted in the U.K. finds that there is no long-term increase in death rates among for women on the Pill.

This study, sponsored by the Royal College of General Practitioners' (RCGP), involved approximately 46,000 U.K. women who were followed over an extended period of time, some up to forty years. As Eurekalert puts it, that's "more than a million woman-years of observation." Not too shabby. The results show that women "who have ever used the oral contraceptive pill are less likely to die from any cause, including all cancers and heart disease, compared with never users." That's right, folks: less likely.

There are a couple of other points worth noting. First, because the study began so long ago, it includes data from older versions of contraceptives. Secondly, in a bizarre twist that even the researchers can't explain, it seems that women who have taken oral contraceptives are more likely than those who haven't to die a violent or accidental death.

Hopefully this new study will reassure women that you can take control over your reproductive health without risking cancer. I hate to think of women out there who aren't taking the necessary precautions to prevent unwanted pregnancy because of some popular myth about a correlation between the Pill and cancer.

Photo credit: nateOne

Roxann MtJoy is a freelance writer who previously worked as a case manager at a domestic violence shelter. She is currently attending graduate school for theater in Mount Vernon, N.Y.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Pope Angered by Condom Machines in His Backyard
NEXT STORY:
Nigeria Attorney General Demands Investigation of Gang-Rape

COMMENTS (7)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.